BRIDGEPORT -- The city and 10 surrounding municipalities have decided when it comes to garbage, it's time to get their hands dirty and, just maybe, save taxpayers money on trash hauling and electricity.

The alliance is formalizing a deal to negotiate a new garbage disposal contract next year with the Bridgeport-based Wheelabrator trash-to-energy plant, which tops the city's tax rolls with a $282 million property assessment.

At present, the 10 municipalities have a contract with Wheelabrator through the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. But that deal expires in June -- and the theory is the group could benefit by cutting out the middleman.

"The gist of it is, all of us working together to get better fees," said Bridgeport Councilman Richard Paoletto, Jr., D-138, a member of the council's contracts committee that recently recommended the city participate in the deal.

The full City Council is expected to vote on the matter in January.

The deal's supporters say there's an immediate savings because the CRRA already charges each municipality more than $2 per ton of garbage in administrative costs.

Of that amount, Bridgeport residents contribute about 50,000 tons, which amounts to $100,000 annually in CRRA administrative costs.

But eliminating those CRRA fees is just the beginning.

According to various town officials, the coalition also hopes to negotiate lower trash disposal costs with Wheelabrator by becoming customers for the plant's energy business.

"We convinced them if you can sell us your power, you'll save money," said Ed Bowman, assistant director of public works for Fairfield.

Currently, Wheelabrator converts 2,200 tons of waste into 67,000 kilowatts of electricity each day for the wholesale market. Bowman said Wheelabrator would earn more if it marketed the energy at retail prices to the municipalities.

In return, Bowman said, Fairfield, Bridgeport and the other partners want the guaranteed lowest retail price.

"They could supply all the municipal power ... that we're looking to buy," Bowman said. "When you put it all together, everybody gets lower costs for both power and garbage."

"I feel -- and many people agree with this sentiment -- that we can negotiate better on behalf of Trumbull sitting directly at the table with an entity like Wheelabrator," he said.

Herbst said the fact that occasional rivals such as he, a Republican, and Bill Finch, Bridgeport's Democratic mayor, are united is further proof that the deal is good enough to overcome any political or cross-town rivalries.

However, Herbst credited his public works director and their counterparts in Fairfield and Westport for leading the way.

"It shows you can achieve regionalization from mutual cooperation rather than mandates from the state," he said.

Bridgeport has yet to officially come on board, although City Attorney Mark Anastasi expects the full City Council will vote on it Jan. 6.

Although Paoletto's contracts committee voted in favor of the arrangement earlier this month, the decision came after a lengthy, behind-closed-doors meeting in which voices -- including Paoletto's -- were occasionally raised.

"What I'm concerned about is all the municipalities coming to the table at the same time, with the same issues, and working together," Paoletto said afterward.

Freshman Councilman Rick Torres, R-130, the only Republican on the mostly Democratic council and a frequent critic of Finch, sat in on the contracts committee meeting.

Torres likes the plan.

"I think Bridgeport on its own can get a pretty decent deal, but certainly not as good (as negotiating regionally)," Torres said. "I don't see a downside."

Bridgeport's relationship with Wheelabrator has, at times, been strained.

Finch, whose administration has pursued a variety of green initiatives, was on hand in June to celebrate the Bridgeport site's 25th anniversary.

"The green vision for Bridgeport started right here," the mayor said.

But Wheelabrator and the city have had some heated battles in court over the latter's high tax assessments.

In one suit, Wheelabrator alleged the city "arbitrarily" raised its property valuation by $3 million because the company declined to produce certain documents.

Bowman said that's a separate issue from the trash hauling and energy purchase talks.

"We may be negotiating one over here, and they may be fighting over (taxes) in the next room," he said.